12:25 A.M.
Manila National Police Station.
July 21st, the year 2018. Saturday.
Katrina Fajardo's 23rd birthday.
5 hours and 57 minutes after Katrina Fajardo went missing.
She pointed right at his face and said, "Find her, Lieutenant Dela Rosa. Just to remind you, I can withdraw my invested money for your company that's owned by your parents. It's not even yours. It looked like you adore the police field so much that your aunt and uncle have to do the work all the time. If it weren't for Fajardo Inc., your company would have fallen apart a long time ago. It's like Torres Productions."
Auntie Karyn glanced at Carmela, who was clenching her jaw right away, and she pursed her lips. Auntie Karyn bumped her shoulders to Zoey. Carmela followed her steps with her eyes.
The reason for their Torres Productions' bankruptcy... It was a mysterious case that had been on hold for a few months right now. Carmela looked down at her feet as she remembered the paper that Marcus brought the day Margo died.
Marcus brushed his face out of exasperation. He recovered quickly, seeing Lieutenant Lirio and Sergeant Kim waiting for his orders. He sighed, ordering that they should re-examine Margo's case file.
Marcus was thinking of his aunt and uncle right now. How they were busy keeping up with the competition through the companies. He closed his eyes as Lieutenant Lirio said something to him again.
"Cece, 1998," Carmela whispered to herself. Matthew and Mina both averted their eyes towards her as Carmela creased her forehead. She was thinking about that name she had seen on that file. The one where that hand-scribbled crimson letter had been, saying that Margo would be dead by the dawn of Friday in the chilly breeze of June.
Matthew stared at her and asked, "What is it, Carmela?'
Carmela snapped out of her daze. She looked up and saw that the two men beside her were listening intently to what she was whispering. Carmela shook her head as Marcus and Lieutenant Lirio concluded their conversation.
They patted each other's backs after that as Marcus turned to them again with his hands over his waist. Xian was still wearing his handcuffs as he looked down at his feet and didn't even dare to utter a word.
Marcus furrowed his eyebrows towards them while asking, "Where is Abbey?"
Zoey opened her mouth as Mina and Matthew sighed over their places. Marcus took turns staring at each one of their best friends while Carmela had the courage to speak up. The police officers all came back through their seats. Auntie Karyn stepped out through the station without even looking back.
"Abbey said she needed to check on her brother. Xyrelle wasn't answering the phone, so she thought something happened to him. It's something urgent for her," Carmela explained. Marcus raised his eyebrows and stared at Xian. He shifted his eyes from his handcuffs towards his ex-girlfriend.
"So you let her go? She was driving over Bella's Main Highway at this point? She could be in danger. You should have called me before she can even leave," Marcus reprimanded. He exhaled, knowing that Abbey drove off without someone behind her.
"I am not in the place to control her, Marcus. She had her own decisions, and besides, it was her brother. What danger could Xyrelle do to her? It's his own sister. It's not like Xyrelle could do something more dangerous than you think," Carmela retorted. She sighed and held her forehead.
Marcus clenched his jaw right away and turned to Xian. He was now thinking about his accident where he ran up to Xyrelle, who was heading towards Kelly's Diner that day.
"Tell me, Xian. Is there something that bothered you... when you saw Xyrelle over the diner the day your accident happened?" Marcus asked rigidly. It made Xian's eyes widened. He hesitated to answer because four pairs of eyes were now staring at him immensely. They were all waiting for his answer and Xian sighed first before he could even respond.
"Nothing. He was passing by to buy some coffee or some breakfast meal over the diner. As Carmela said, Xyrelle indicated he was going to his grandfather's house. It was normal for him to pass through," Xian explained. Carmela breathed a sigh of relief. Marcus inhaled an enormous amount of air.
He turned to his best friends again and Carmela raised her eyebrows towards him.
"See? Even Xian said it. We should not suspect someone who could not even lift his arm for an inch. I saw how Xyrelle was in pain that day when he paid a visit to Xian at San Miguel's Hospital. It was just hours after his accident. And I promise you, Marcus, there was nothing to be suspicious about him." Carmela bragged about it. She wanted to dodge everything he could say.
Marcus nodded right away and believed what she was arguing the whole time. Carmela looked away from him as Marcus swallowed.
He said that he needed to question Xian further while turning his heel back around in the hallways of the FBI. He guided the handcuffed Xian as the four of them sighed over the center of the information area of the station. Matthew and Mina put their hands over their pockets as Mina said something.
"We should help Marcus with the case. He's exhausted with what was happening right now," Mina hesitated. Matthew agreed with what he said.
"Let's have some coffee outside. It's something to heat the mood. While we're thinking, where can we find Katrina so that we can help him," Zoey suggested. She turned around, walked over to the glass doors.
Matthew and Mina followed her right away. Carmela observed Marcus's back vanishing through the corner. She sighed and looked down. She pocketed her hands inside her coat, waiting for the glass doors to open. Carmela caught up with her best friends walking over the lot.
...
Abbey zoomed over the highway, kilometers away from her village. She dialed her brother's number again over the rack. She gripped the steering wheel tightly as she heard he was unavailable at the moment. Xyrelle's cell phone must have been turned off for some purposes. Abbey stepped onto the gas pedal and glared right through the mist that was forming on the front window of her car.
She turned over to their village and stopped for a few minutes as the guard ordered her to roll down the window. He looked over the backside of the car and Abbey smiled at the guard a little. He bowed down his head as he finished checking the insides of her car. She sped up through the village and stopped right through their house.
Abbey stared at the displayed time over the screen underneath her cell phone. It's already past midnight. She observed Katrina's name over the screen and it was reminding her it was her birthday today.
"The saddest day I had ever been. My best friend was missing on her birthday. We didn't even know where she was right now," Abbey whispered. She leaned back in the driver's seat and averted her eyes from the screen towards their home.
She saw the lights were out and saw a glinting lantern over the windows of her brother's bedroom.
"That is why he answers none of my calls. He was asleep right now," Abbey whispered through the window. She observed his brother's bedroom, and she stood upright when she saw that someone was moving.
A silhouette over the window danced around the shadows. It made Abbey climb out of her car immediately. The figure fell back onto the bed. She's puzzled that she opened the gate hastily.
"He wasn't asleep?" Abbey whispered to herself as she opened the front door and switched the lights on. She sighed as she saw how clean the living room was and stared at the staircase. She wore off her shoes first over the door and picked up slippers on the rack.
Abbey walked up the stairs and stopped by her brother's bedroom. She silently put the side of her head over the door and widened her eyes when she heard someone gasping.
Abbey grabbed a hold of the doorknob and quickly opened the door. Her brother sat down on the bed while the lights were off. Only the lampshade was giving a glint towards the room. They both screamed at each other as Abbey covered her eyes abruptly, slamming the door.